Fallen Petals
by PixelButterfly
Summary: Hae Hong Ha Jin and Queen Yoo want their children on the throne. Taejo will do anything to stop anyone but Mu from taking the throne. Yo and Soo want to be free. In the greater game of their parents' meddling, the princes and their wives are just flower petals waiting to fall and be stepped on.
1. Chapter 1

**Here I am in a gradually quieting fandom, finally fulfilling my dream of writing a YoSoo fic.  
****Here's to all the phenomenal writers that are still writing nonstop and courageously keeping this fandom alive.  
****You guys rock. Let's get this party started.**

* * *

Wang Tae's screams could be heard throughout the castle.

It was not for lack of effort on the part of the physicians, but no one could truly tell what was wrong with the man. After a great hunting trip, he had arrived back at the castle with a pair of rabbit skin gloves for his betrothed and a white tiger for the king's wall. There were celebrations, feasts, and Tae entertained many of the king's closest lords as he regaled them with stories of the hunt. He proudly lifted his sleeves to show off the scratches on his arms from when the tiger had drawn too close, and his younger brothers marveled at each wound.

After dinner, surrounded by servants and chaperones, he had taken a walk with the daughter of Hae Hong Ha Jin and lightly held her hand before boisterously laughing when her governess admonished him for being impolite.

He never let go of the girl's hand, and gently slipped the gloves onto her pale fingers as her cheeks flushed red and her eyes fell downward. "I hope to give you even more gifts when you become my wife," he said gently. The girl, her servants, and her governess swooned at the prince's words, and no one thought to tell the prince off when he continued to hold his betrothed's hand.

The second prince smiled when she spoke, listened to her admonishing his reckless action, and kept his attention on the pretty girl before him for no reason other than the fact that he loved her. And Hong Ha Jin's daughter did the same for her prince.

They took tea with chaperones and servants mobbed around them in case one might require even the tiniest of tasks done for them, or in case the boisterous and charming prince decided to steal a kiss from his betrothed.

It was not the patriarch of the Hae clan the servants feared in case Tae decided to kiss or hold Hae Soo. Upon hearing Tae had kissed Soo on the forehead and left the fourteen-year-old girl squealing and blushing into her governess's shoulder, Hong Ha Jin had laughed and declared it wonderful that the prince was so enraptured by Soo. However, upon hearing the servants had allowed such debauchery to happen, her mother had ordered them whipped for their negligence.

Now, they kept a watchful eye out in case the ambitious prince decided to come anywhere near Soo with impure thoughts before they were wed.

After tea with Soo, Tae went to bed.

Within a week, the great prince was bedridden with a fever, locked jaw, and muscles that twitched so violently the queen mother ordered her personal guards hold him down for fear of him injuring himself. It took six men to subdue the warrior prince, whose once revered form and handsome looks were now tangled and stricken with terror and pain.

He could not walk or speak or eat. The prince wailed in agony as men held him down and physicians tried everything to alleviate his agony. The queen demanded answers, but the healers had none. They could not understand how something so violent and horrid could come over the son of the dragon so quickly.

Wang Tae starved because of his inability to open his jaw or swallow. His mother stayed by his bedside and attempted to coax any form of nourishment into her son to no avail. His brothers arrived to see him when he was not thrashing about, but the slightest draft or the most minute of noises could trigger his muscles into uncontrollable agony, so they avoided him.

He died of dehydration just three weeks after his twenty-first birthday.

The second Tae's pulse faded into nothing, the castle fell into chaos as the uppermost contender for the throne suddenly disappeared, leaving a vacuous space to be filled. The oldest still held his position as the king's heir, but with the second son dead, there needed to be a replacement-one with enough power to force the dissidents back in line.

The funeral was magnificent, and throughout the entire affair, no one wept harder than Hae Soo. Even the queen looked upon the girl with warmth in her heart as Hae Soo clutched her gloves and sobbed into them. The other spectators stared on at the great fire that reached leagues upward. Wang Tae's body decomposed into the flames, and so did all of his belongings. All Hae Soo had left of him were a pair of soft, white, rabbit skin gloves.

Tae's mother looked to the Hae family, and they responded with urgency. Hong Ha Jin met with the queen as she offered her remaining sons for Hae Soo to marry within a fortnight. The vacuum left behind by Tae had to be filled with something even more powerful, and a great alliance would force the dissidents back into place. Hong Ha Jin smiled and gracefully thanked the queen as she offered her second son, Wang Yo, in Tae's place.

"Thank you for meeting with me in your time of grief… I know how it feels to lose a son," said Hong Ha Jin as he bowed before the queen.

Queen Yoo looked down upon the kneeling man and bid him to rise and sit at her table. The servants poured tea as she softly inhaled and allowed her sadness out with a dainty exhale. "A part of your heart feels empty. My firstborn is gone, yet I must fend for my life against these parasites that threaten to take my other sons from me."

Ha Jin accepted his tea and sipped as the queen looked away and out the open window. With the blooming spring, it was just warm enough during the day to allow sunlight to filter into the rooms and brighten them.

"I hear that when Tae refused to let Soo see him in his state… that she ran for the temples and prayed for three days and nights until she also fell ill." Queen Yoo's voice was a breathy whisper, almost inconsistent and easy to prey on, but Hong Ha Jin knew better. He bowed his head and submitted to the queen's faraway will.

"My daughter adored the great prince. She begged our gods to save him so that she could be with him in his healthiest and happiest form. Even when she was ill, she completed one thousand bows a day to pray for him… a shame the gods did not pity either."

Queen Yoo merely nodded.

"Shame indeed. We both know that I need my son to be king and you want your daughter to be queen," explained Queen Yoo. She turned back towards him and smiled at the lord who held some of the kingdom's most vital defenses and fortresses. Hong Ha Jin of the Hae clan knew enough to continue being humble towards her. He shook his head.

"As long as my Soo is loved and cherished, I will live a happy life."

Queen Yoo's smile grew as she reached for her own tea and sipped it. "Then I propose we continue with our alliance. Marry your daughter to my son, Yo, and I believe that together, we can place both on the throne."

Hong Ha Jin poured her another cup of tea, and they both smirked into their cups as they drank deeply.

* * *

**He died of tetanus :)**


	2. Chapter 2

"No. No! Please don't make me, Father. Please! I don't want-"

"What you want is irrelevant."

Hong Ha Jin looked down at the girl before him. She wore white mourning clothes and her hair was unbound and messy. Eyes puffy from crying, she still held onto the childish fantasy of love and pleaded for her father's mercy.

The patriarch of the Hae clan wished his daughter would return to the happy, girlish child she was before. Before Wang Tae died, she wore colors and danced and sang. Now, she keened and prayed.

"You will marry the third prince within a fortnight and take your place as the head of his household. Bring honor to our family, Soo. The second prince is no more and you must do right by our clan."

Soo's wide eyes welled with tears as she wished Tae would return to life and whisk her away. They could be happy away from the palace and away from the politics that kept their love apart… but Wang Tae was dead, his ashes interred. And Soo lived to be sold off once more.

"You will meet the third prince on the day of your wedding," said her father. "You were spoiled by the second prince, but I know the third to be different. He will never hurt you, but you _will _do what is right and be a good wife. Do you understand?"

The patriarch ached to see his daughter bow her head in shame. He wanted nothing more than for Wang Tae to live and take Soo as his bride, but that prince was long gone, and Hong Ha Jin needed to know his children would be ready to uphold the clan once he was gone.

After losing his eldest children to Wang Geon's war, Hong Ha Jin brought his remaining ones together and refused to let them out of his sight. Now, his last son, Hae Jin Gu, presided over the north while Hong Ha Jin, the boy's mother, and Soo resided in the south. Once Soo married, Hong Ha Jin would inevitably return to his home.

Wedding plans commenced with a speed so blinding that even the king himself had little time to prepare. Queen Yoo described the wedding to the old king as an alliance to bring Hong Ha Jin closer to the throne and closer toward His Majesty's watchful gaze, but anyone with eyes could tell that this was an alliance meant to overthrow Wang Mu. Everyone knew that if Hae Soo had been just a bit older, it would be Mu she was married to.

Wang Yo was told to avoid seeing Soo until the wedding day, which the prince had no problem with. There was too much work to be done on his end for anyone to care about some simpering girl that wept and prayed over a dead man.

When his mother arrived to inform him of his new betrothal to the Hae girl, his servants begged the queen to stay back and away from her son until he dressed, but she blew them away with a gentle flick of her hand. She knew of her son's nonsense, and she had two weeks to prepare him for the alliance that would make him king.

The doors opened, and Queen Yoo stared with distaste as her son looked up from his bed of women. It was a scene out of something a monk could have exorcised. Writhing limbs tangled and jerked as the whores tripped over each other in their haste to bow to her. The queen ignored them all, and stepped forward as her son covered his groin with a pillow before standing and bowing his head.

"I will excuse this slight as your way of dealing with the grief of losing your brother," said the queen. Her servants already knew to usher the naked girls out and have them whipped. Yo also knew the consequences of whoring in such a conspicuous manner.

A eunuch came to wrap a robe around the naked prince, and his mother sat at his desk as he took the floor beside her. "With Tae gone the wolves will snap at our feet and the vultures at our heads, yet you play around with these trivial things as if your life has no consequence."

Wang Yo was thinner than the broad-shouldered Tae. While an accomplished swordsman and warrior, Yo's skill was in the bow and arrow, and his uncanny ability to bring an icy chill over the room with just a look. But his mother was immune to his actions, and she glared at the boy as he coughed and awkwardly begged her pardon.

"Your pardon will be your lifelong commitment. You will marry your brother's former betrothed and secure an alliance with the Hae clan so that we may survive this fight. I know I favored Tae over the years, but that was in preparation for him to become king… but now that he's gone, those preparations now go to you, my son."

Wang Yo's long hair fell over his shoulder as he bowed his head. His mother scoffed at the purple marks that littered the skin of his shoulders. "I'm sure you've heard of Hae Soo. You may have even seen her. She's quite different from the whores you frequent."

"She sounds like she'd bore me," said Yo. Grinding his teeth, he jerked his head upward to look at his mother and leer at her. "Yet again you leave me to pick at my brother's leftovers."

A dainty, socked foot slipped from beneath layers of silk, and Yo grunted as his mother kicked the side of his head. He fell from surprise, yet the impact of the blow left his mouth open. Wild eyes went feral, and he stood to tower over his mother.

"There it is," said Queen Yoo. Her voice was a soft coo as she nodded her head. "That drive to fight… you have more than Tae ever did. Wang Yo, your brother is dead. You get to be something he wasn't: a king. How proud do you think I would be to know that my second son became king? How absolutely amazing would it be to rule, do you think?

"Do you think I would come to anyone else to take up Tae's mantle? So is a degenerate and Jung is a child. You are a perfect replacement for the hole left by Tae… perhaps an even better one. If you think you are less of a man for marrying Hae Soo, you're a fool.

"How many women do you think your father has? He beds the maids and servants and the very same gisaengs you frequent. My son, all you need to do is put a son in Hae Soo as your first heir. Then, you can whore to your heart's content. But only after you become king."

Yo no longer seemed to threaten her, yet his scowl remained. "She's a beautiful girl," continued the queen. She smiled at her son.

"_Beautiful_," scoffed Yo. "You speak as if I did not see with my own two eyes the way that girl fawned over my brother, Wang Tae the Magnificent. How could I ever bed the woman that imagines my brother's face when I-"

"You will do whatever you need to conceive a son," interjected his mother. She stood and daintily sniffed in disgust at the state of life her son maintained. "I assumed that would be the easiest part of your nuptials… but you make everything difficult."

Wang Yo smarted from the blow her words left, yet he still bent to bow as she moved to leave. Squaring his shoulders, the prince waited for the doors to close before he swore and swiped his arms across his desk.

Books, his inkwell, and various stray sheets all fell to the floor with a majestic crash. Panting, Yo glared at the shut doors that kept his murderous gaze away from his mother.


	3. Chapter 3

**Happy Holidays!**

* * *

Hae Soo was despondent from losing her prince, but she approached her wedding day with her head held high and her lips pressed into a tight line. She did not weep the way her family expected her to. Instead, she dressed in silence, with her eyes closed.

The robes that adorned Hae Soo displayed just how wealthy the Hae family was. Rich in men, land, and gold, one might have assumed the head of the Hae clan could do as he wished, but there was an unspoken secret that filtered through the paper walls. The secrets slithered about, and anyone caught whispering them had their ears cut off by Hong Ha Jin himself.

Once upon a time, Hong Ha Jin had five sons and a daughter to demark his line. He was rich in everything, but the king grew jealous of Hong Ha Jin's wealth and decided that he would smite the lord as a preventative measure. One by one, Hong Ha Jin's sons disappeared in hunting accidents, died of infections in clean wounds, went for walks and never returned, and committed suicide. The king left Hong Ha Jin his last two children as a warning, and Hong Ha Jin never dared to approach the invisible line between them ever again. He devoted himself as a faithful servant to the king, and while the other lords mocked the rich man for falling so easily, Wang Geon marvelled at how well his plan had worked.

Now, Hae Soo stood with her arms open as servants draped heavy layers of the finest silk in the world onto her body. Gold flowers and phoenixes floated over silk the color of fire and sunsets. Her blue skirt was so dark with rich dyes that it almost seemed black, yet pearl beads and gold thread brought bursts of bright blue shining from within those deep, dark depths.

Gold earrings that fell to her shoulders graced her delicate lobes, and swatches of black hair were braided into her already long, lustrous locks. There were no more tears left for the bride to shed, and if she smiled she would disgrace herself as seeming too eager.

She wore no makeup to separate her status as a highborn woman, but when the servants began inserting pins into her hair, her mother ordered them to erase the deep, dark circles beneath her eyes.

"Prince Yo will run for the hills if he sees those."

Soo closed her eyes when the servants dabbed beneath her eyes with a skin-colored paint. She could make something so much better, so much prettier, but there was nothing left in her heart to put effort to.

She did not sigh or moan. Instead, she held herself high and waited to be helped up so she could ride a palanquin to the center of the palace, where she could already hear the clamor of drums and music.

On the other end of the castle, Wang Yo stared at the far wall of his bedroom as he took a long drink of wine and set the cup down. Already dressed and ready, he relinquished his bottle of wine to a servant and walked out of his new home.

The residence was vast and devoid of life. Wang Yo needed to bring Hae Soo to fill his house with children and to bring in more life to the destitute estate.

"You look chummy," said Yo as he passed by his brothers. The younger ones laughed while the older ones merely smiled.

Wook placed a hand on Yo's shoulder as he congratulated his older brother, and when the eighth prince smiled, Yo smiled. "A pity So couldn't join us," said Wook. Yo's smile did not fade. Instead, it grew vicious.

"The only reason I need a dog at my wedding is to eat the scraps left on the tables."

"I heard Hae Soo ordered the leftovers from the wedding be distributed to the poor!" piped up one of the younger boys. "She's quite strange, isn't she? I guess that's why Tae liked her so much!"

Yo's stomach twisted, and he glared at the little one that spoke. _Eun_, he recalled, was the boy's name.

The wedding was a spectacle that would last three days in order to truly show the magnificence of both houses. The first day, Wang Yo and Hae Soo laid eyes on each other for the first time.

Sitting at the marital table, they peered at each other over the pot of wine they would soon share. Soo saw a man with a slim jaw and narrow, calculating eyes. He was taller than Tae, but thinner. Prince Yo took up less space and demanded less attention, yet there was something about the look in his eyes that left her spine tingling in fear.

When Yo looked up from his stone tablet, he saw a pretty girl with big, round eyes and small lips. She was as small as he remembered, and her eyes blinked softly. Everything about her seemed soft and malleable. Yo resigned himself to his mother's advice as he accepted the cup of wine from the attendant. He closed his eyes and drank deeply as the monks around them prayed. She was pretty enough for him to get the job done. That was all that was required of him, anyways.

From afar, Hong Ha Jin watched with rapt attention as his daughter drank from the same cup as Wang Yo and became his wife. The two were ill-suited for each other, but Hong Ha Jin knew Yo would not hurt Soo and Soo would do her best to please him. If anything, that was the foundation for a long and good marriage.

The lord turned toward the raised dais from which the king watched the ceremony take place. Taejo leaned forward in his seat and spoke quietly to Wang Mu, who sat to his father's right. Neither seemed particularly interested in the ceremony, yet they kept their eyes forward instead of on each other. Hong Ha Jin smiled as he gazed at the father of his new son. Hae Soo would be Yo's first queen, making Hong Ha Jin would be the grandfather to the king after Wang Yo.

Festivities commenced immediately after the ceremony, and while the new couple sat side-by-side at their own separate banquet table, performances, dishes of food, and other revelries passed by their stony eyes.

Neither looked at each other, neither ate, and neither spoke. Wang Yo's icy stare scanned over the guests as if he planned on hunting one of them and eating them alive, while Soo looked over the people around in search of her friends and family. Only her father, mother, and a few members of her extended family were there. Her own brother could not arrive in time from their home in the north.

A hundred musicians performed as one hundred different dishes made their way to each and every table in unison. Albino peacocks strutted around the grounds and great wreaths of braided gold hung from strings above.

It was a beautiful sight to behold, and it was one that the poets would write about for a millenia. Hong Ha Jin and Queen Yoo made sure of it. Not a single thing was out of place throughout the night, and that would continue for the next two nights.

No one noticed when the newlyweds were led away. The only people left at the celebration were men whose wives had departed to rest. They drank and reveled as the party began to wind down, and the first day drew to a close.

Yo and Soo took separate palanquins to his residence, and while Yo looked around in boredom and annoyance, Soo glanced around her new home in an attempt to gain any sort of bearing on what her new life would be like.

Red paper lanterns illuminated every walkway, and when Soo looked forward, she could see the back of Yo's head as the servants carried him ahead of her.

Servants undressed Wang Yo and Hae Soo in separate rooms. They worked in silence to prepare the couple for their first night, quickly and silently unlacing, unstrapping, and undoing hours of meticulous work until the prince and his wife were in their underclothes.

"I am brave. I am brave. I will… I will serve my… my husband well," Soo whispered to herself. Her servants worked around her like a flurry of bees, ignoring her statements and continuing to undress her.

"Just get it up. Just get it up and finish quickly," Yo muttered to himself. He already sat in Soo's bedroom, glancing around the pretty space and sighing in contempt at the fact that it was now his duty to go to _her _whenever he wished to be satisfied.

A rich table of sumptuous food and drink awaited them both, while the bed was made with white silk instead of any other color. Yo hoped Soo bled easily, considering how hard someone must have worked to make sure the girl was a virgin when Yo deflowered her.

Silver and white thread interlocked to create the ghostly images of deer and cranes on equally white background. Yo drank and thought about Wang Tae. If Wang Tae had not died of infection, he would not be in this mess. His older brother would be happily awaiting the arrival of his pretty bride and would make her happy.

But Yo sat in silence, drinking and awaiting the minute he would take Tae's woman and make her Wang Yo's. Hae Soo no longer had the image of Wang Tae to look forward to, but the physical presence of Wang Yo.

That was the only silver lining Yo could find.

When the doors opened, he did not look up. Uninterested in the sheepish girl that stepped toward him, Yo flicked his hand to the chair beside him. She sat down and Yo poured wine into her cup.

"Eat, you must be famished." He spoke without inflection, yet when he glanced up for the slightest moment, her cheeks flushed.

"I… I'm not hungry, my prince," she said. Her voice was what Yo imagined it to be. Soft and meek, shallow and pure.

"I'm sure you want to prolong our first night as much as you want," said Yo. "And since I don't want to converse with you, you can either drink or eat, or I can take you to bed right now."

He almost flinched at the fire that reflected in her eyes when she looked straight at him. Hae Soo sat straight in her underclothes and blinked innocently, yet her eyes were hard and her intentions as straightforward as they could get.

"I will not shy away from you," she uttered.

Yo heard fear, but he did not doubt the metal that coated her heart. He laughed at her gumption and tossed his empty cup down. She was no match for him. He grasped her by her tense wrist and yanked her forward as she shrieked in surprise.

Sitting his new wife onto his lap, Yo let her bottom rest against his groin. Her wrapped his arms around her middle and let his hand move between her thighs to cup at her sex through her clothes. She tensed so much he could taste the fear emanating from her.

"I didn't agree to this marriage, you know," he murmured into her ear. Her hair was in a long braid down her back that Yo ignored in favor of letting his lips bump into her ear. "It's because I like when women think of me when I'm fucking them… and I know you'd just close your little eyes and imagine Wang Tae fucking you." He smirked when she wriggled and held his wrists in a feeble attempt to push his hand away.

"So here's my proposition: if you choose to look at me while I fuck you, I'll try to make it hurt less. If you choose not to look at me, then I'll make it hurt more."

The way she twitched and squirmed made him harden against her bottom, and Yo closed his eyes to maintain the feeling. His nose dipped into her sweet-smelling hair and for a moment, he lost himself to the feeling of this woman, _his wife,_ against him. She was his and his alone. There was something so exhilarating about that.

Then, he came to.

"And if I even think you're imagining my brother, I'll strangle the life out of you."

He loosened his grip on her middle, and smirked as she immediately turned to face him.

It was with great shyness that Hae Soo climbed up onto his lap. Wang Yo leaned back in his seat as she kept her eyes trained on his. It was unnerving, but also funny at the same time. Yo wondered if Tae would make her look at him. No, those big, doe-like eyes would peer at Tae with adoration instead of the fear and resignation Yo received.

Soo flinched when the prince's hands unlocked from around her middle and immediately collected her by the bottom. He stood with her in his arms so easily that she leaned forward and held onto his chest to keep from falling backward. Walking her to the bed was just as easy as lightly plopping her down.

Yo undressed her with little pomp, while also taking his own clothes off. Soo blushed so much her entire body shone pink, and Yo ignored her. Normally, he would take each piece off slowly, or one of his women would undress him as she licked down his body, but Yo was dealing with his lady wife, and his lady wife had never been in the presence of a man without twenty bodyguards at the ready.

So, he tore off her clothes and enjoyed the lack of frivolity. Hae Soo covered her breasts and crossed her legs, but he hardly cared; she would open them eventually.

He leaned over her, took her by the tense wrist, and pulled her upward so she sat up beside him. She was so small and dainty. Her pale skin shone, and her brown eyes sparkled as he guided her closer. Yo could not tell if she had tears in her eyes. There was something fragile, yet unbreakable about her… and her eyes never left his. It unnerved him to no end. Those big eyes that seemed to stare into his very soul blinked at him, making him gulp. She was quite pretty naked, and he felt his groin stir.

He pulled her onto his lap and noticed how she moved in confusion, but without hesitation. She sat on him, and he marvelled for a moment at how soft and clear her skin was. Hae Soo was of the stock that could afford daily baths in milk. She smelled like honey and flowers, and Yo smirked as she kept her gaze down and her hands tight against her breasts.

Gently cupping her cheek, Yo turned her head towards him. Again, those big eyes bored into his soul. He wanted to force her gaze away, but it entrapped him and lured him forward. So, he closed his eyes and kissed her. Gently at first, and then with more energy. She tried to match him, but Yo could tell he was the first to capture her soft, small lips.

There was something quite magical in that.

Gently, he guided her hands away from her breasts and replaced them with his. He liked the way her chest felt.

From outside the doors, the servants listened in on the unrestrained moans and whimpers from their new lady, as well as the grunts and thrusts from their lord. They finished once, and then a while later, began again. Wang Yo was known for his sexual appetite, and now that he could not go whoring the way he used to, his lady wife would experience many sleepless nights to come.

The marriage was consummated, and the servants would report back to Hong Ha Jin and Queen Yoo to report their findings.


	4. Chapter 4

**Merry Holidays to you and yours!**

* * *

Hong Ha Jin smiled as the queen poured him a cup of tea. "I hear Prince Yo is unable to resist visiting Soo's room every night," he said. The queen merely smirked as she set the pot down and picked her own cup up.

Tea swirled around painted blue cups as the two drank.

"I suppose we ought to ready ourselves to welcome grandchildren," she returned, her eyes lazily meeting his in a shared look of triumph. A month into the marriage and neither Wang Yo nor Hae Soo had committed any sins that would warrant the interference of their parents. Yo did not visit a whorehouse once while Soo seemed to be done with spending her days praying at the temple.

Queen Yoo set her cup onto its saucer. "Now, I assume we ought to talk politics. Our children are married and now we have a great alliance to back them. I believe it is time to commence with gathering more allies and preparing for the day when Yo rises to the throne."

"Our power alone should be enough to subjugate, but for my daughter's sake, I hope that some of the lords come to love your son. It would be… a hassle to have to force the other lords into submission every other year."

"Are you assuming that Yo is not lovable?" demanded the queen. Her eyes narrowed and Hong Ha Jin flicked at his beard as if he was deep in thought. His eyes twinkled as he shook his head.

"I married my daughter to him, Your Majesty. Would I give my precious gem to a man if I could not know for certain what kind of person he was?"

* * *

The king looked down upon the lords that stood in his chamber. They murmured in low voices to each other, and he was content to let them. Their ideas flowed best when allowed to speak amongst one another. Some were old and haggard, their white beards sparse and their skin sagging. They were wise, but too old to rebel. Others were spritely and young, having just inherited their positions in the king's court and ready to serve at his command.

And then there were those in the middle: the ones with only a few streaks of gray in their hair, who could instantly pick up a sword and still fight like they had in their prime. They, who were the ones who had fought in the war with him and had established their domains in his court were also the ones who stared up at him with snakes' eyes and waited for him to topple.

It was a secret kept locked away in the safest vault of the king's mind, and once in awhile, he opened that vault to renew his worries. The one man Wang Geon feared most of all was the head of the Hae clan: Hong Ha Jin.

He knew Hong Ha Jin well; they had fought together in the war against the Khitan. While the king had been forty-one at the time of the war, Hong Ha Jin had been nineteen, a father of three, and a completely unknown entity.

At the time, the Hae clan had consisted of its patriarch, Hae Si Hun, and his four sons. None of their names mattered; they were all dead—all except for the youngest, Hae Hong Ha Jin. The Hae clan seemed to have a knack for producing their best children last, and that worried the king. Within the span of one war, Hae Hong Ha Jin had gone from being a forgotten son to becoming the patriarch of one of the most powerful clans in the country. His father died of an arrow to the eye; his brothers all fell on the battlefield. Rumor had it, Hong Ha Jin himself had tracked each brother down on the battlefield and cut them down without mercy

When all was done and the lords went home to regroup, it was the Hae clan that did so the fastest and with the least amount of help from the crown. No longer did the Hae clan send hawks carrying pleas for help from the crown. Now, they sent couriers ahead of armed luggage trains to declare that the Hae clan would pay their taxes early.

That was worrisome, and Taejo was not stupid. He was not so blind to believe that Hong Ha Jin would remain a loyal servant for long. Of course, the king took preventative measures. First, he married his daughter to Hong Ha Jin's eldest son, but that alliance ended prematurely when the girl died in childbirth. Taejo recalled that she had been twelve at the time. After her, he tried to bring Hong Ha Jin's other children to the castle to be raised with the princes and princesses—a great honor, and a great way for Taejo to hold the boys and girl hostage—but Hong Ha Jin gently refused his offer and declared that his poor wife would die of a broken heart if her children left the safety of home.

Then, came the marriage of Hae Myung and Wang Wook. This time, it was Hong Ha Jin that came forward and requested that some long-forgotten niece of his be allowed to marry Wook. Hae Myung was one of the few children of Hong Ha Jin's brothers that had survived Hong Ha Jin's ascension to patriarch. She was five years older than Wook, and had somehow fallen in love with the boy. Taejo granted the marriage in the hopes that their union would give Hong Ha Jin less material to work with, but the girl Hong Ha Jin had described as a lively flower that he was unwilling to let go of proved to be a sickly, pale thing that adored Wook to the ends of the earth.

Thus, Hong Ha Jin rid himself of a weakling and gained a prince in her place.

At first, Taejo had contented himself in knowing that no matter what plan Hong Ha Jin had stewing in that head of his, the crown would be able to put it down and crush it instantly. But the whispers in his head said otherwise, and Taejo had grown sick with the knowledge that if anyone would try to kill him or kill his heir, it would be Hong Ha Jin. The man had too much to gain… but also too much to lose.

He sent assassins after the lord's children and took each one out in succession. There were too many of them, and Hong Ha Jin had grown too vain, so Taejo had to teach him a lesson.

For years, the deaths of his children had subdued Hong Ha Jin, but now, Taejo shuddered to realize that the man had succeeded in marrying his daughter into the Yoo clan. The king had been blind to the betrothal between Wang Tae and Hae Soo, but when the wedding feast for Wang Yo and Hae Soo took place just two weeks after Tae's funeral, that was too much for him to ignore.

"Hong Ha Jin, I see you still grace me with your presence in the capital," Taejo called to the only man who had more than three lords surrounding him. The lords dispersed, and Hong Ha Jin bowed low. "I am so very happy you continue to stay. You were one of my most trusted advisors during the war, and now I hope you will stay close by my side in the wars to come."

"Majesty, I mean no trespass," said Hong Ha Jin. "I mean to leave for my home once the weather becomes a bit warmer. My knees have grown weak and my wife no longer enjoys long rides in carriages. Forgive me for staying."

Taejo chuckled as he shook his head. "Trespass? Why would I not welcome my old friend into my home? We are united by marriage once more, Hong Ha Jin. We will share grandchildren if your Soo bears my son any."

Hong Ha Jin was too well groomed to react in any way but to smile and graciously thank him. But Taejo knew that his words had cemented themselves in the man's skull.

The king already knew of Wang Yo's love for female company. Because of the queen's obsession with Tae, Yo had fallen through the cracks, along with his other brothers. But now that Tae was dead, Taejo assumed his wife planned on making Yo into a king. He dared her to try.

"Only the gods know if she will bear Prince Yo a son."

Having descended from the great dragon, Taejo decided he would determine if Hae Soo had children or not. He smiled when Hong Ha Jin smiled. Two could play the wily lord's game, and poison was easily slipped into anyone's tea.

Across the palace grounds, in a lovely gazebo surrounded by flowers, Hae Soo sat with her mother and drank the tea her mother poured for her. Her mother did not touch the drink, and instead patted Soo's cheek as she cringed at the bitter taste.

"This isn't tea," Soo said. Her mother smiled and bid Soo to finish the cup before she ordered a servant to dump the pot out. The young woman watched with a stricken expression as the maids did as told. "What have you-"

"The prince visits you every night, Soo. You're too young to conceive just yet. Your father wants to take precautions."

The older woman merely sniffed at the look of horror that rose over Soo's face. "Mother-"

"You are too young to remember your own brother's wife dying in childbed. She tried to birth a child when she was still a child. Your father will not allow you to conceive if your life is at-"

"Is that not my choice?!" demanded Soo. She glared at her mother, and Go Myung's mouth dropped open before hastily slamming shut at the sudden outburst from her usually meek daughter.

"How dare you speak to your own mother that way? Ungratefulness is a sin, Hae Soo." Go Myung gave a harsh scoff s her daughter's gaze wavered. "I see marrying a prince has not matured you, but made you insolent. I know I told you to serve your husband well, but don't die while you're at it."

Soo's mouth shut as her eyes watered. She shook her head in horror as her mother merely sighed. "You'll thank me when you are older, Soo. For now, revel in your greed. Being a mother is wonderful, but you'll only experience it if you're alive."

Go Myung sat by as Soo shook her head and excused herself. The young woman collected herself and marched away from the gazebo, her bottom lip clamped between her teeth and her steps so fast that her servants scurried to follow behind her.

Soo's mother merely sighed. "How did I raise a child so rudely?" she asked to the head of her attendants. "I thought marriage would subdue her. It seems Prince Yo spoils her."

"She's still quite young, my lady,'" responded her maid. "Leaving one's parents to marry is a liberating experience, is it not?"

Go Myung gave a soft hum as if she did not know what to say. "When I married Soo's father, I was twelve years old. He did not touch me after our first night until I turned fifteen. Birthing my oldest was the most difficult thing I had ever done… I cannot lose another child. All of my babies are dead except for Jin Gu and Soo. I cannot lose them."

"There is no reason to fret, my lady," said her maid. "I'm sure Lady Soo will come around eventually. She knows that you only mean well for her."

Go Myung bowed her head and exhaled slowly, eyes closing as she thought to herself. She wished her daughter would just understand. There were so many things that could hurt her, but the girl was young and her heart and mind were fearless. There were few things that could dampen the fire in Soo's soul.


	5. Chapter 5

"Dearest husband, I hope you will join me for dinner tonight. I would like to see your face and get to know you. Your wife."

Wang Yo scoffed as he tossed the parchment aside, letting it curl up onto the edge of his desk. He shook his head and winced at the pulling sensation in his neck that his new topknot left behind. "A month in and she grows bold."

"It's just dinner," commented Yo's younger brother, Wook. The younger man looked up from his knife as he whittled a piece of wood into a ball. "I doubt you lose anything by going to see her."

Yo watched the knife in Wook's hand as it dipped into the wood and drew off papery slivers. "I lose the space between us. I lose boundaries." He pressed his hands flat onto his desk. "How much hatred do you think she holds in me for replacing her valiant and noble Tae? "

"Not much by the looks of her letter."

Yo sat back into his seat, petulant. Shaking his head, he looked to the younger man as he carefully placed each sliver of wood onto a cloth before him. Wook was careful not to let any debris fall to the floor. "I hear you go to your wife every night," said Wook. "Shall I expect happy news?"

Scoffing, Yo shook his head. "I'm sure my little wife and her father are taking necessary precautions. You would also go to your wife every night if your own household guards forced you away from the Gyobang."

Yo paused before looking at Wook, who tipped his head to one side. Suddenly, a smirk appeared on Yo's lips as he leaned forward. "Does your wife satisfy? It's been years since you married, yet no sign of children?"

Hiding behind the facade of actual caring, Yo watched his words sink into his younger brother. Wook was of lower stock, and not even a positive contender for the throne Yo cared so little about. In fact, he mattered so little in the grand scheme of things, that even though Yo and Wook were technically in-laws, the younger man had not even been at the meeting when Yo sat down with the men in Soo's family to formally accept their engagement.

"My wife's health matters more to me than-"

"Your line will die if you don't take another," Yo snapped at his younger brother. "Or is this petty revenge against Hong Ha Jin and Father for making you marry that woman. She's older than me, is she not?"

Wook stared at him, blank-faced and unmoving. His shoulders rose and fell as he breathed, and Yo wondered if he had managed to strike the nerve he aimed for. "My wife is undeserving of criticism for illnesses she was born with. We have tried, and we have failed. I will not dishonor Myung by taking a second wife… not when she has remained faithful and supportive."

Yo wanted to throw Soo's letter in Wook's face and call him a fool. Instead, he leaned back into his seat and shrugged his shoulders. "Suit yourself."

In that moment of uncertain silence, they both looked to the pot of cold tea and cookies that sat at the center of the table and Yo sighed before standing. As per custom, Wook stood as well. He set his knife down as Yo stepped away from his seat and moved toward the door. "I'm leaving. I enjoy our chats, Wook. Perhaps you ought to send your wife to my home so she and Soo may do whatever women do."

Wook bowed his head. "I will discuss with my wife." Raising his head, he offered Yo a smile. "Will you be joining your wife for dinner, then?"

"No. I have no wish to listen to her prattling." Yo did not bother wishing Wook a good day as he walked out of the room and to where his servants waited. Glancing around the rooms of the Damiwon, he stopped at the sight of a maid whose shirt was tied a bit too tight.

Approaching her, he took her jaw in his hand, gently running his fingers over skin that was almost as smooth as his. This one was born poor. Her nose was spotted with a dusting of freckles, and her dark hair looked like straw in its braid, but her eyes shone and her lips were pink and pretty. "And what might your name be?" he asked softly. His fingertips brushed her throat, and caught the trail of her rapidly hammering pulse.

"Prince Yo, I hope you will release her so she may continue working." A strict woman's voice rang out like a gong behind him and Yo threw the girl's chin away, forcing her to stumble backwards.

He turned on his heel to stare straight into the eyes of the woman his father fucked as a hobby. Only this time, there was actual hatred in his stare. Lady Oh's face was placid and blank as she bowed low to greet him. "And I assume you're also under orders to prevent me from enjoying my own life?" he demanded.

She rose from her low bow and Yo leered as she blinked slowly. Not a single hair was out of place on the head of the king's resting place, and her presence felt like a cold peace forced upon the world. When she spoke, her voice was as steady as water and as placid as the sky, and Yo remembered the hatred his mother had for her. When he thought of the Sanggung, he pitied even those as horrid as his mother. "The women of the Damiwon are the king's women, Prince Yo. You would be infringing on your father's property if you were to touch any of them."

"In the same way you belong to my father, I assume," he spat back. Lady Oh did not give him the reaction he wanted. Her strict expression remained calm, and Yo grew even more annoyed. "Enough. I tire of the prattling of those around me. Leave me, and go tend to your own matters."

With that, he turned once more and marched out of the Damiwon, anger coursing through his veins and hatred flowing through his heart.

He walked back to his residence with his servants and guards trailing behind him. Yo walked and walked and walked until suddenly, he found himself at his wife's door. Somehow, his subconscious and rage had led him to the place of his ire.

"And it's dinnertime," he grumbled under his breath. It was a waste of steps to get there, and a waste of steps to leave. The smell of food wafted from her dining room and Yo realized he had not eaten since breakfast. His stomach rumbled and his annoyance doubled.

The servants pulled the doors apart for him and Yo stepped in as they announced his arrival to his wife.

She was as lovely as ever. His money and her father's money always left her closets overflowing with only the highest quality of materials that made up every shade of the rainbow. In her hair were trinkets that shone gold and silver, and though her status was one that deserved only the best, Hae Soo seemed to like being understated and simple in her choices of clothing or hair. A right shame she cared more about her skin and face than what she wore.

She stood and beamed as he sat down at the table before them. The weight of the food beneath practically made it creak, and once Soo bowed, she sat down beside him. "I'm so happy you accepted my invitation," she said. Yo reached for his chopsticks and nodded his head.

"Wasting food is a sin."

He picked the best morsels from the dishes and set them onto his own plate as Soo also picked her utensils up. If there was anything for Yo to be grateful for, it was that his wife did her part in keeping his household running smoothly very well. There was never any shortage of whatever Yo needed or wanted, and somehow he trusted her to continue as she did.

"I was wondering if you could… could tell me about yourself," she said in his periphery. "I want to get to know you."

"Well, I don't want to get to know you." Eating quickly, Yo hoped she would also put something in her mouth to shut her up. He poured himself a cup of hot wine and sipped the strong alcohol as he ate. "What makes you think I came here for you?"

He could feel her wide eyes boring into him. When he bedded her, it was something he liked. He always knew when she was looking at him, and she never took her eyes off of him. Yo wondered if he felt like taking his wife to bed after dinner. Perhaps the trip to her residence would not be a wasted effort.

"Prince Yo… I would truly like to know you a bit better. I would like if we could be friends. Perhaps we could do something other than-"

"Than me fucking you every night? What good are you for anything else?" Yo set his chopsticks down, annoyed. Turning, he looked at his wife, whose pretty cheeks blushed pink. "I can't take you hunting with me, your existence prevents me from whoring, and I doubt your needlepoint would interest me in any way."

Her eyes fell to the floor and Yo scoffed as she wiped a hand beneath them. "Your tears will not sway me, dear wife."

"Tae wouldn't treat me like this." she spoke with a careless whisper that travelled throughout the quiet room. He flinched at the icy chill that ran down his spine. Yo swallowed thickly and scoffed, his black-lined eyes widening and his mouth falling open in stunned silence. Another scoff left him, and another. Hae Soo's head remained bowed, and Yo wanted to hit her.

But he could not dishonor his lady wife like that… not when Hae Hong Ha Jin would flay him alive for it. If word reached his father-in-law that he had abused Soo in any way, Yo knew that the old man would find a legal way to have his fingers cut off and his tongue torn out.

"Oh sweet wife, he would have been worse. Your Tae," he spat the name with such vehemence that Soo flinched, "was far worse than I. _You _didn't know him. _You _knew the side of him that was beautiful and chivalrous. Stupid, stupid girl.

"My brother was known in the gyobang for emptying his purses nightly. Did you really think a twenty-one-year-old man would find anything interesting about a fourteen-year-old girl?

"My brother was going to marry you with two bastard daughters to his name. Did you know that? Did you know your precious, beautiful, charming Wang Tae fucked whores and was careless enough to put children in them? Or did he claim you would be the mother of his children and that he would cherish you forever?

Soo's hands covered her face and she shook her head. "You're lying!" she shouted. Yo hardly cared that she raised her voice at him. "He would never-"

"Never? If infection had not taken him, then you would have killed him in his sleep for being unfaithful. He would have had four bastards by the time you gave him one. I may not be the best husband in the world, but know that I have not dishonored you quite yet.

"But tell me, if I came to our marriage bed with children from whores, would you make them a place in our home? Would you welcome the children of women whose sole purpose is to keep me away from you? Would you let those children sit at our table and dine with us?"

Standing abruptly, Yo ignored the screech of his chair as it slid backward and toppled behind him. His wife wept into her hands and he left her behind, unwilling to eat anymore.

"You're an idiot. Be grateful that I care enough about your stupid existence that I am unwilling to dishonor you before your very eyes. It seems princes must mould themselves to coddle worthless things like you now."

He left without another word, leaving Soo behind with a table full of food and a heart emptier than before.

She wiped her eyes and tried to calm herself, but there was little she could do when Yo's words cut so deeply into her skin. Her valiant prince had been the light of her eyes. Tae had made her laugh and brought her gifts. He had held her hand and given her her first kiss when he touched his lips to her forehead…

And he had lied about his children, about his unscrupulous ways. Soo wondered if her father had known—if Hong Ha Jin had been willing to marry her off to a man with children from other women.

Swiping at her eyes with her sleeve, Soo ordered her servants to take the rest of the food to their quarters and share it among themselves. Avoiding their astonished eyes, she left the table and made for her room, unwilling to stay in a room with such negativity left by her husband.

She laid in bed, alone for the first night since she had married Yo almost a month ago. He came even when she bled, and she pleasured him through her own embarrassment. Now, she spread out her arms and legs apart in her large, empty bed.

The silence was deafening, and severely lonely.


	6. Chapter 6

**Completely forgot about this fic for a minute lol. New Years resolutions really take a whole lotta time, don't they?**

**Anyways, happy short month, people! **

* * *

Hong Ha Jin rubbed his beard as the servant spoke with her forehead to the ground. "There has been no movement between the two. The prince has not gone to see Lady Soo in two weeks, and she has not inquired about him as well. They are absolutely silent with each other."

Deeply troubled, Hong Ha Jin looked to his wife, who shook her head. "Leave us," she ordered the servant. The young woman removed herself from the ground and stepped backwards out of the room before shutting the door behind her.

Once alone, Hae Hong Ha Jin looked to his wife as she used a single finger to tap at her chin. The two sat in silence for a minute, mulling over the thoughts that rose with this new information.

"What could have caused them to fight so badly?" asked Go Myung. She sighed as her husband shook his head.

"Does it matter? For two weeks, the prince has not gone to see Soo. I worry he will fall back to his old habits."

Go Myung's bright yellow skirts shifted as she sat closer to her husband and lowered her voice. "What will you do if he goes back to the Gyobang? If he gets a son of any of those whores, she will be of higher standing than our daughter until Soo can do the same."

Hong Ha Jin muttered under his breath as his expression darkened. "And here I thought Yo was the best after Tae. There are no other princes that can truly contend for the throne, Go Myung. I cannot take her away from him, but I can see if his mother will reign him in."

Go Myung nodded her head. "We must force them back together. Even if Soo is not going to conceive anytime soon, there must be more emotion in their relationship."

The two parents exchanged sighs as they thought about their youngest child. "She must learn how to seduce and keep her husband. There is naught much else we can do," said Hong Ha Jin. "I want to know what forced the two apart like this. It must not happen again until Soo gives birth to a son."

"Will you inquire into this?" asked Go Myung. Her husband smiled at her as he reached to take her hand.

"We must know everything if we are to make Hae Soo a queen. If they are to succeed in gaining the throne, there cannot be any dissent between them. They must form a cohesive pair."

* * *

"What have you done?!"

Queen Yoo fumed at her son as he sipped his tea and shook his head. The golden bells in his topknot tinkled as he spoke. "Will you also take her side?"

"You have been away for your wife for so long that the servants are whispering. Would you care to explain?"

Wang Yo tossed one of his red sleeves off of the table and set his teacup down. Before him, his mother leered at him in that special, elegant way of hers. Externally, he attempted to hide his emotions and act as if he could not care less about her anger. He sipped his tea and acted as if nothing was wrong, but as her gaze rested onto him, he quailed.

"I… She compared me to Tae."

Queen Yoo pinched the bridge of her nose as Yo spoke, and she shook her head in mute anger as her son continued. "So I told her about Tae's whores and his bastards."

Her eyes slammed open as Yo spoke, and Queen Yoo almost choked as she pressed a hand to her mouth. Then, she looked back at her son as white rage replaced shock. "You did what?"

"Mother-"

"After everything I have done to secure you the most stable, reliable alliance in the nation, you go and tell Hae Soo the one thing that should have remained a secret forever?! What would you have accomplished by disillusioning her?!"

His mother screeched and Yo's stomach sank as he thought of the repercussions of his actions. In telling Soo about tae, he exposed himself and made himself seem like his brother. The man she idolized was as foul as the man she married, and now she ran for her parents to cry.

"She was in love with Tae and now you gave her the simplest reason to complain to her father that you are the same, and cry for the marriage to be annulled. Do you have an inkling of how quickly your own father would jump to end your union with Hae Soo and immediately marry her to Mu as a second wife?! Hae Hong Ha Jin is not stupid, but even he would reconsider marrying his daughter to a man whose brother sired bastards in whores!

"Stupid child! What if she thinks you might be capable of the same actions? How long will you grovel in the shadow of your brother?! How long will you see Hae Soo as your brother's and not as yours?!"

Her hands fell to the table with a majestic crash that rattled the teacups and jostled the cookies on the plate before them. Yo closed his eyes before opening them to her wrath.

"What if," he said slowly, "I don't even want to be king?" Staring his mother down, he confessed himself to her, but she merely waved a hand at him.

"I don't care. I'm doing this for your own good. You will thank me in the future."

Her words burned a hole into his heart, and though he had endured it his entire life, it always hurt to hear his mother dismiss his desires with such nonchalance.

Defeated, Yo bent to his mother's will once more. "I will apologize to her." That was what she wanted to hear. "I will go to her and make myself care about her.

Queen Yoo regarded her fool of a son as she shook her head. "And then what? Will you continue to force her to tears for your own selfish, stupid, utterly insignificant victories? Does making her cry make you feel big?"

She shook her head, admonishing him. "No, you will go before Hae Soo. If she knows about Tae's bastards, it is only a matter of time before Hong Ha Jin knows as well. Tae's past was a tarnish on our family I should have rid us of long ago. You will beg forgiveness for causing such a ruckus within your marriage. You will say that you will discipline yourself and that you will not dishonor her.

"Then, you will continue your marriage as if nothing has happened. You need her to create an heir—one with the pedigree of a true king of Goryeo like yourself. Cleanse our line of the misfortune Tae brought with it.

"There are too few girls who have the political and financial backing that your little wife has. Do you understand? Is that concept so difficult for you to grasp? You need Hae Soo. You are indebted to Hae Soo and Hae Hong Ha Jin."

Queen Yoo rubbed her forehead and Yo bowed his head in contempt, anger bubbling up in his throat and leaving a bitter taste in his mouth. He nodded mutely, unwilling to further incite his mother's wrath. He would attempt to follow her advice, but Yo doubted there was much he could do to make Hae Soo even come close to liking him. She belonged to someone else, and that someone was a pile of ashes buried deep inside the ground.

* * *

Soo looked up from her sewing when the servants announced her husband's arrival. Her needle hand trembled for a moment as she pulled it from the deer she stitched.

When the doors opened, she stood from her bed, keeping her head low as Yo's pounding footsteps approached. Her arms grew cold with goosebumps and her hands fisted into her skirt as a pair of white socks entered her vision, and bright red robes swirled around as he stopped.

"I've come to apologize, my lady," he said brusquely. His voice was cold and unfeeling, and he crossed his arms as he spoke. "For two weeks I have been unworthy of being your lord and husband because of my own selfish inability to treat you as my wife. For that, I apologize. I did not mean to harm your emotions, and I hope that you will forgive me."

His hands moved to clasp her elbows and Soo kept her eyes down. She tried to think of something to say, but her tongue felt heavy. She could not understand how the man she had loved so much could be so… different.

"Th-Thank you for your kind words," she said monotonously. Soo kept her eyes down as they prickled. She did not want to cry anymore. Yo would not comfort her in any way. Anger slowly poked at her from the soles of her feet to the palms of her hands. She tried to ignore it, but she could not help but wonder _why_.

"Prince Yo?" she asked, finally looking up at him. Yo was handsome, and his face devoid of emotion. There was no sincerity in his apology, and there was no repentance in his eyes.

"Yes, sweet wife?"

"Why do you hate me?"

They stared at each other, and Soo felt him flinch. Her wide eyes implored him for an answer, and she took the smallest of steps closer. "I'm a good wife. I'm nice. I always welcome you here, and yet… you look at me like I'm scum. I just wanted to get to know you that day, but-"

"_You…_" said Yo. He cut across her childish rambling as he moved his hand from her elbow to lightly cup her soft, pale cheek. His voice was gentle and his words laced with sweetness. "You are a good wife; I don't deny it. You are kind, and you do allow me into your bed every night. But when I look at you, I see a woman that does not belong to me. I see a woman whose heart belongs to someone else. I want you completely, yet you will never be mine. And for that, I will hate you."

Her eyes filled once more with tears, and Yo pulled her into his arms, hugging her close so she would not look at him. She was small and warm, like a bag of heated stones the physicians would put on his injuries when he trained. "Let's not fight. Let's just… be the way we used to. I will be cordial and I will be amicable. And in return, you will do the same."

She sniffled hard, her hands pushing at his front. Yo gave a long sigh. "When will you stop crying? Stop being stupid." He wished he could let go of her, but she leaned against him and held onto the front of his robes. Yo could force her away, but he doubted she would like that.

Soo pushed away and wiped her eyes with her hands. Taking a step back, she squared her shoulders against her much taller husband as his insincere but warm expression became a sincerely annoyed one. "I'm not stupid," she stated. "I'm not the blind little girl you think I am. I know you miss your brother and that you're taking your rage out on me, but I'm not your enemy. Don't make me your enemy."

Scoffing, Yo tried to make sense of what she had just said. Instinctively, he smirked and shook his head as if to call her a fool. His voice was condescending as he replied. "_Miss_ him? I do not _miss _him."

"You always bring him up even though he's dead, and you always say I'm not to think of him." Soo's voice rose as she looked straight up at him. "You miss your big brother and you're angry because you think I'm the leftovers he left behind for you to pick up!

"I'm not blind! I know my father wants to make you king! I know that I'm a pawn in all of this! And I know that you hate me for being your brother's first! But even through all that, I try to be nice to you and try to make this marriage work even though you're always so mean to me! All I wanted was to be your friend, but you make that impossible!

She flinched when Wang Yo's hand rose as if to strike her. His open palm curled into a fist as he pressed his hand back downward. "Perhaps," he whispered, his voice dangerous, "I will send you to Tae, so that you may be with him in the next life."

Then, Yo turned and marched away from her. Soo stared at the back of his head, confused and worried as her husband marched off and the doors shut behind him.


End file.
